Fabrics with good thermal insulation and other protective qualities have in recent years found a variety of advantageous applications including use in insulating curtains, wall covering, winter apparel and the like. Probably the most critical and demanding use of such insulating fabrics, however, has been as the interior lining for the protective clothing of fire fighters. Such protective clothing, commonly known as fire fighter's turnout suits, and the lining of such clothing can be and often is subjected to the dangerous extremes of heat, open flame, smoke, steam and corrosive fumes commonly generated within a residential or commercial fire. Typically the turnout suits include an outer layer or "shell" of flame and abrasive resistant material, an intermediate layer of moisture barrier material and the inner thermal liner which is positioned adjacent the body of the wearer. Obviously, the fabric from which the lining of such garments is produced must be able to withstand these extreme external conditions while simultaneously keeping a fire fighter relatively cool and dry and also unincumbered by the weight of the fabric itself.
Attempts have been made to provide insulating fabrics for use as liners in protective turnout suits that satisfy the grueling demands of protection against the harsh environment of a fire while simultaneously meeting the somewhat opposing requirements that the liner be light in weight and relatively cool and dry for the wearer. Examples of such attempts include the provision of multiply fabric liners having a flame resistant woven face layer which faces the wearer and an attached layer of a thermally insulating batt material such as Nomex or Kevlar which is positioned adjacent the moisture barrier material and the outer shell material of the garment. Neoprene and other polymeric materials coated onto such insulating batts also have been used because of the water resistant properties of the rubber coating.
While such layered and coated batted fabrics have proven somewhat successful when used in firemen's protective clothing, they nevertheless have included problems and shortcomings inherent in their respective designs. The insulative batts of these fabrics, for example, tend to retain body heat and moisture within the garment and can thus become unbearably hot and humid for a wearer. Perhaps the greatest problem with such inner liner fabrics, however, has been their excess weight for a given degree of protection against hostile environments. Therefore, in the production of fire fighter's garments as well as in some other products, a compromise has been required between the competing requirements of adequate heat insulation and lightest possible weight.
Specific examples of fabrics previously used as liners for fire fighter's protective garments are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,897,889 of Grilliot, 4,830,897 of Lichtenstein, 4,034,417 of Ellis, and 4,502,153 of Lapedes, et al. While these examples may represent improvements over older protective fabrics, they tend to be heavy and expensive to produce and still include at least some of the problems discussed above. Therefore, a continuing need exists for a heat insulating fabric for use in protective garments and other products that is economical to produce and that exhibits superior protection against the hostile environments of a fire, while being light in weight, relatively cool to the wearer, and resistant to the build up of moisture within the garment. The present invention comprises such a fabric as well as the method of producing same and a garment incorporating the fabric.